Improvement in steaw and air engines



E. L. BUCKUP. Improvement insteam and Air-Engines. 131,736,

Patented Oct-1,1872.

Witmmi BIC ERNST L. BUGKUP, OF STAPLETON, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN STEAM AND AIR ENGINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 131,736, dated October1, 1872 antedated September To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, ERNST L. BUcKUP, of

Stapleton, in the county of Richmond and State of New York, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Steam-Engines, of

which the following is a specification:

The nature of my invention consists in applying to the exhaust-ports ofan engine driven by steam, air, or both combined, an apparatus fortaking up the heat contained in such steam I or air when leaving theengine, and in forcing cold air again through the apparatus to take upsuch heat and conduct a large portion of it back to the boiler or othersource of power.

In all engines as at present constructed the heat in the exhaust istotally lost, being thrown out into the open air or destroyed in theconof an engine, to pass through chambers G and U, which are filled withtransverse partitions a, a of wire-gauze that will take up the heatcontained in such exhaust. The water produced by the condensing of thesteam may remain in the interstices of thewiregauze in minute particles.I then force a current of cold air, compressed by a piston, T, in anair;

. pump, P, through said chambers O 0 and wiregauze alternately. In doingso the air will expand by taking up the heat contained in thewire-gauze, and at the same time convert into steam a large portion ofthe water it meets.

This heated air and steam are then conducted back into the boilerthrough a passage, L,

check-valve F, and pipe V. Thecylinder A draws its supply from a boilerin the same way as other engines,the piston R drivingthe engine insuitable manner. The air-pump cylinderP has a piston, T, driven insuitable'way, preferably in the opposite direction to the piston R.Under certain conditions, however,

both pistons can bemade to'move in the same directions. Theexhaust'chambers O 0 above referred to are most conveniently arranged inthe slide-valve S, which is moved by eccentric, or otherwise, in such away that when the engine exhausts through 0 air is forced through 0 inthe opposite direction by the air-pump P. As soon as the engine passesthe center the eccentric moves the slide-valve S to make the oppositeconnections. In this manner, while the port .0 of the cylinder Aisopposite chamber O, exhausting through it and out through opening E, theport G of the cylinder P is open, drawing in a supply of air through anaperture, m, and at the same time the port 0 is closed by theslide-valve, and the piston T forces air through the part G and chamber0 into the passage L which connects with the boiler. Although theopening and closing of the parts have thus been shown to be broughtabout by the motion of the slide-valve S, the same maybe accomplished bymeans of other valves having a lifting or a rotary motion. The air-pumpP requires no other valves, since the slide-valve S opens and shuts therequired passages. To prevent the pressure in the boiler from reactingagainst the piston T at the time the pressure in the air-pump P is lessthan the boiler pressure, acheck-valve, F, is placed in the passage Lwhere the same leaves the cylinder A. Instead of only one check-valvetwo may be used, in which case the passage L would be branched.

The valve-chest D and slide-valve S may be placed on one side of thecylinders A and P, instead of being between them. Each cylinder has inthat case a face for the slide-valve to work on, and the cylinders areplaced closer otherwise, to their respective opposite ends.

before entering the exhaust-chambers (J and O.

The cylinder A and slide-valve S may also be so arranged that the enginereceives the steam or air, or both, through the same openings O and 0through which it exhausts. The slide-valve has in that case additionalopenings for connecting the ports 0 and O with the inlet-pipes. Such anarrangement would behest suited for small engines, being more simplethan to have separate valve or valves for letting the steam into thecylinder, as represented in Fig. 1.

I do not mean to confine myself, in the construction of these engines,to any particular position of the two cylindersA andP toward eachotherwhether they are side by side or one in front or above the other,and whether they are connected with difl'erent cranks or both with oneonlyas long as the operation of the slide-valve S, or its substitutes ofvalves, and pump P, is substantially the same in reference to maincylinder A.

The heated air leaving the chambers G C may be used for other suitablepurpose, and not only for further use in the boiler.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is- I 1. The combination of an air-compressing pump and two chambers filled with wire-gauze with an ordinary steam orair engine, driven so that the gauze shall absorb the heat from theexhaust and return it to the air forced through it by said pump, to beused again in the boiler or for other purpose, as set forth.

2. The slide-valve S containing the exhaustohambers G O filled withwiregauze, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown anddescribed.

ERNST L. BUCKUP.

Witnesses:

GEO. W. MABEE, T. B. MOSHER.

